An open letter to the international nursing community asking: what are we going to do about it?

摘要

At the recent International Council of Nurses (ICN) Congress in Taiwan, I observed ample evidence that nursing is indeed on the move. There was an abundance of knowledge, innovation and vitality. What struck me most forcefully was the professional maturity with which knowledge was shared and issues were explored. As one who has attended the ICN congresses since 1969 in Montreal, Canada, I can say this with some assurance and a great deal of pride. I was especially impressed with the comments made by Pelanetete Stowers from Samoa, who gave the Virginia Henderson Lecture at this Congress. She questioned the international relevance of Virginia Henderson's definition of nursing, used widely in nursing and endorsed by ICN. This struck me as an important step forward in the advancement of nursing knowledge and could provide a beginning for the development of a new definition that is more relevant to this time and multiple places where nursing is practised.Virginia Henderson created that definition of nursingfor nurses in the USA at that moment in time. The international nursing community took this 'local' definition and used it sometimes uncritically. Maybe it was helpful, but as Pele indicated, now something else is needed.